AP - The two top salesmen for a $700 billion financial bailout are in for a grilling by Capitol Hill lawmakers just one week after the administration officially ditched the original strategy behind the rescue.

AP - Detroit's Big Three auto makers are begging Congress for a $25 billion government rescue, while the legislation clings to life support on Capitol Hill and top lawmakers and the White House suffer from bailout fatigue.

AP - Taliban militants attacked Pakistani tribal leaders near the Afghan border, triggering a gunbattle and an explosion that killed seven people, an official said Tuesday.

AP - The bitter general election campaign behind them, President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are seeking common ground on a range of issues in hopes of engendering greater bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

AP - Two astronauts face a tedious cleaning and lube job Tuesday, the first of a series of spacewalks to resurrect a massive joint that turns one of the international space station's power-generating solar-panel wings toward the sun.

AP - Hundreds of shrieking fans — mostly teenage girls — lined the streets outside the Mann Village and Bruin Theatres on Monday for a chance to peek at the stars attending the Los Angeles premiere of "Twilight." Some enthusiasts of the popular vampire literary series-turned-movie camped out overnight, while many arrived at dawn to secure a place in line.

AP - Yahoo Inc. founder Jerry Yang has never concealed how much he cares about his Internet company.

AP - Turns out the Cleveland Browns aren't quitters after all. And they have Phil Dawson to thank for this wild win.

AP - Even a make-believe psychic couldn't spot the scam when an actor disrupted a scene for "Medium" involving Patricia Arquette, who stars as psychic Allison DuBois in the NBC drama.

Reuters - Senate Democrats took the first step toward bailing out the nation's crippled auto industry on Monday by proposing a $25 billion loan program, a plan that faces stiff political headwinds with millions of jobs potentially riding on the outcome.

Reuters - Yahoo Inc said Jerry Yang will step down as chief executive as soon as the board finds a replacement, sending its shares up 4 percent on hopes his departure will clear the way for a deal with Microsoft.

Reuters - Japan's recession could last even longer than feared, the country's economy minister warned on Tuesday, and reflecting increasing efforts by governments to provide a cushion against a global downturn, Taiwan said it would give its citizens $108-worth of shopping vouchers.

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama and vanquished rival John McCain met for the first time since the November 4 election on Monday, pledging to work together to face the financial crisis and reduce government waste.

Reuters - Primary care doctors in the United States feel overworked and nearly half plan to either cut back on how many patients they see or quit medicine entirely, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Reuters - Sales of once-hot gift cards are expected to fall nearly 6 percent this holiday season as shoppers try to stretch their dollars by buying discounted merchandise, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation on Tuesday.

Reuters - Call it an economic and environmental murder mystery in the making: Will a cash-strapped Detroit kill the electric car -- again?

Reuters - Israel shut border crossings with the Gaza Strip Tuesday citing continued rocket fire at its towns, despite warnings from world aid groups of looming shortages of food and fuel supplies in the coastal territory.

AFP - Asian shares fell sharply Tuesday on mounting fears of a long global recession after US banking giant Citigroup announced 50,000 job cuts and carmakers on both sides of the Atlantic pleaded for help.

AFP - Oil-laden Saudi super tanker Sirius Star seized by pirates in an audacious hijacking way out at sea was Tuesday off the coast of Somalia and the crew is unharmed, the US Navy and the ship's operators said.